Communication data processing method, apparatus, and system

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present invention provide a communication data processing method, an apparatus, and a system. A communication data processing method includes: acquiring, by a processing apparatus, a data distribution policy, where the data distribution policy includes storage information of a storage apparatus, where the storage apparatus is configured to store context information of a user equipment UE; and saving, by the processing apparatus, context information of a UE into the storage apparatus according to the data distribution policy, or acquiring context information of a UE from the storage apparatus according to the data distribution policy. In this case, a service of the UE may be resumed according to the acquired context information, and uninterrupted service processing is achieved even if the processing network element is faulty or the processing node is faulty, thereby improving security and reliability of processing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/242,133, filed on Aug. 19, 2016, which is a continuation ofInternational Application No. PCT/CN2014/072404, filed on Feb. 21, 2014.All of the afore-mentioned patent applications are hereby incorporatedby reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relate to communicationstechnologies, and in particular, to a communication data processingmethod, an apparatus, and a system.

BACKGROUND

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture evolution (SAE)network architecture. As shown in FIG. 1, the SAE network architectureincludes: an evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN)that is used for implementing all wireless-related functions of anevolved network and may also be referred to as an E-UTRAN NodeB(eNodeB); a mobility management network element (MME) that isresponsible for mobility management of a control plane, includingmanagement of a context and a mobility status of a user equipment (UE),allocation of a temporary user identity, and the like; a serving gateway(SGW) that is a user plane anchor between 3GPP access networks and is aninterface for terminating a connection to the E-UTRAN; a packet datanetwork gateway (PGW) that is a user plane anchor between a 3GPP accessnetwork and a non-3GPP access network and is an interface forterminating a connection to an external packet data network (PDN); apolicy and charging rules function entity (PCRF) that is used for policycontrol and decision and flow based charging control; a home subscriberserver (HSS) that is used for storing user subscription information; aUMTS terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN) and a GSM/EDGE radioaccess network (GERAN) that are used for implementing allwireless-related functions in existing GPRS/UMTS networks, where theUTRAN includes a radio network controller (RNC) network element and abase station (NodeB) network element, and the GERAN includes a basestation controller (BSC) network element and a base station (BTS)network element; a serving general packet radio service support node(SGSN) that is used for implementing such functions in GPRS/UMTSnetworks as routing and forwarding, mobility management, sessionmanagement, and user information storage; non-3GPP IP access networks(Non-3GPP IP Access) that are mainly some access networks defined bynon-3GPP organizations, such as a wireless local area network (WLAN),worldwide interoperability for microwave access network (Wimax), andcode division multiple access network (CDMA); and an authentication,authorization and accounting server (AAA Server) that is used forperforming access authentication, authorization and accounting functionson a UE.

In the foregoing existing SAE architecture, when a network element isreset due to a fault, a context of a UE stored in the network element isdeleted, causing an interruption of an ongoing service of the UE afterthe network element recovers. To continue with the service, the UE hasto re-register with a network and re-initiate the service. Moreseriously, the UE generally does not perceive the fault in the NE on anetwork side, and therefore, does not initiate a registration process tore-register with the network and re-initiate the service. Therefore, allservices of the UE are actually unavailable.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention provide a communication dataprocessing method, an apparatus, and a system.

According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present inventionprovides a communication data processing method, including:

acquiring, by a processing apparatus, a data distribution policy, wherethe data distribution policy includes storage information of a storageapparatus, where the storage apparatus is configured to store contextinformation of a user equipment UE; and

saving, by the processing apparatus, context information of a UE intothe storage apparatus according to the data distribution policy, oracquiring context information of a UE from the storage apparatusaccording to the data distribution policy.

According to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present inventionprovides a communication data processing method, including:

receiving, by a data management network element, a create requestmessage sent by a processing apparatus, or receiving a database instancecreate function called by a processing apparatus, or receiving adatabase instance create API called by a processing apparatus;

interacting, by the data management network element, with a storageapparatus according to the create request message, or the createfunction, or the create API, to determine a data distribution policy,where the data distribution policy includes storage information of thestorage apparatus; and

sending, by the data management network element, the data distributionpolicy to the processing apparatus, so that the processing apparatussaves context information of a UE into the storage apparatus accordingto the data distribution policy, or acquires context information of a UEfrom the storage apparatus according to the data distribution policy.

According to a third aspect, an embodiment of the present inventionprovides a communication data processing method, including:

receiving, by a storage apparatus, a context processing request sent bya processing apparatus, where the storage apparatus is a storage networkelement or a storage node in a storage network element; and

performing, by the storage apparatus, processing on a context of a userequipment UE according to the context processing request, where

the context processing request is a context storage request or a contextacquiring request.

According to a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present inventionprovides a processing apparatus, including:

an acquiring module, configured to acquire a data distribution policy,where the data distribution policy includes storage information of astorage apparatus, where the storage apparatus is configured to storecontext information of a user equipment UE; and

a context processing module, configured to save context information of aUE into the storage apparatus according to the data distribution policy,or acquire context information of a UE from the storage apparatusaccording to the data distribution policy.

According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present inventionprovides a data management network element, including:

a receiving module, configured to receive a create request message sentby a processing apparatus, or receive a database instance createfunction called by a processing apparatus, or receive a databaseinstance create API called by a processing apparatus;

a determining module, configured to interact with a storage apparatusaccording to the create request message, or the create function, or thecreate API, to determine a data distribution policy, where the datadistribution policy includes storage information of the storageapparatus; and

a sending module, configured to send the data distribution policy to theprocessing apparatus, so that the processing apparatus saves contextinformation of a UE into the storage apparatus according to the datadistribution policy, or acquires context information of a UE from thestorage apparatus according to the data distribution policy.

According to a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present inventionprovides a storage apparatus, including:

a receiving module, configured to receive a context processing requestsent by a processing apparatus; and

a processing module, configured to perform processing on a context of auser equipment UE according to the context processing request, where

the context processing request is a context storage request or a contextacquiring request.

According to a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present inventionprovides a processing apparatus, including:

a processor, a memory, and at least one communications interface, wherethe communications interface is configured to communicate with anexternal device, the memory is configured to store a computer programinstruction, and the processor is configured to call the computerprogram instruction stored in the memory, so as to execute the followingoperations:

acquiring a data distribution policy, where the data distribution policyincludes storage information of a storage apparatus, where the storageapparatus is configured to store context information of a user equipmentUE; and

saving context information of a UE into the storage apparatus accordingto the data distribution policy, or acquiring context information of aUE from the storage apparatus according to the data distribution policy.

According to an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present inventionprovides a data management network element, including:

a processor, a memory, and at least one communications interface, wherethe communications interface is configured to communicate with anexternal device, the memory is configured to store a computer programinstruction, and the processor is configured to call the computerprogram instruction stored in the memory, so as to execute the followingoperations:

receiving a create request message sent by a processing apparatus, orreceiving a database instance create function called by a processingapparatus, or receiving a database instance create API called by aprocessing apparatus;

interacting with a storage apparatus according to the create requestmessage, or the create function, or the create API, to determine a datadistribution policy, where the data distribution policy includes storageinformation of the storage apparatus; and

sending the data distribution policy to the processing apparatus, sothat the processing apparatus saves context information of a UE into thestorage apparatus according to the data distribution policy, or acquirescontext information of a UE from the storage apparatus according to thedata distribution policy.

According to a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present inventionprovides a storage apparatus, including:

a processor, a memory, and at least one communications interface, wherethe communications interface is configured to communicate with anexternal device, the memory is configured to store a computer programinstruction, and the processor is configured to call the computerprogram instruction stored in the memory, so as to execute the followingoperations:

receiving a context processing request sent by a processing apparatus;and

performing processing on a context of a user equipment UE according tothe context processing request, where

the context processing request is a context storage request or a contextacquiring request.

According to a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present inventionprovides a communications system, including: the foregoing processingapparatus, the foregoing data management network element, and theforegoing storage apparatus.

In the embodiments of the present invention, context information of a UEis independently stored in a storage apparatus that is separated from aprocessing apparatus that performs UE-related signaling processing anddata plane forwarding processing, so that after a processing networkelement or a processing node becomes faulty, the context information ofthe UE can be acquired from a storage network element or a storage node.In this case, a service of the UE may be resumed according to theacquired context information, and uninterrupted service processing isachieved even if the processing network element is faulty or theprocessing node is faulty, thereby improving security and reliability ofprocessing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture evolution (SAE)network architecture;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of Embodiment 1 of a communication data processingmethod according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of Embodiment 2 of a communication data processingmethod according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of Embodiment 3 of a communication data processingmethod according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a signaling flowchart of Embodiment 4 of a communication dataprocessing method according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture used in a methodembodiment shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a signaling flowchart of Embodiment 5 of a communication dataprocessing method according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a signaling flowchart of Embodiment 6 of a communication dataprocessing method according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of a processingapparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of aprocessing apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of a datamanagement network element according to the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of a datamanagement network element according to the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of a storageapparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of a storageapparatus according to the present invention; and

FIG. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of acommunications system according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of theembodiments of the present invention clearer, the following clearlydescribes the technical solutions in the embodiments of the presentinvention with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodimentsof the present invention. Apparently, the described embodiments are somebut not all of the embodiments of the present invention. All otherembodiments obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art based onthe embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shallfall within the protection scope of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of Embodiment 1 of a communication data processingmethod according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, themethod in this embodiment may include:

S201: A processing apparatus acquires a data distribution policy, wherethe data distribution policy includes storage information of a storageapparatus, where the storage apparatus is configured to store contextinformation of a user equipment UE.

S202: The processing apparatus saves context information of a UE intothe storage apparatus according to the data distribution policy, oracquires context information of a UE from the storage apparatusaccording to the data distribution policy.

The processing apparatus is a processing network element, or aprocessing node in a processing network element.

The storage apparatus is a storage network element, or a storage node ina storage network element.

Specifically, in an existing SAE architecture, computation processingand storage processing are combined, that is, a network element in arelated SAE architecture not only performs UE-related signalingprocessing and data plane forwarding processing (these types ofprocessing may be referred to as computation processing) but alsoperforms storage processing on a UE-related context (this types ofprocessing may be referred to as storage processing). For example, anMME not only performs processing on mobility management signaling andsession signaling of a UE, but also performs storage processing on an MMcontext information and EPS bearer context information of the UE; an SGWand a PGW not only perform session signaling processing and data planeforwarding processing, but also perform storage processing on EPS bearercontext information.

In this type of network architecture, because UE-related contextinformation stored in a network element is also deleted when the networkelement is reset due to a fault, the UE-related context informationcannot be restored after the network element recovers, which means thatall ongoing services of the UE are interrupted. To continue with theservices, the UE needs to re-register with a network and re-initiate theservices. More seriously, the UE generally does not perceive the faultin the network element on a network side, which means that the UEconsiders, for a period of time, its services to be normal, and does notinitiate a registration process to re-register with the network orre-initiate a service. Therefore, all the services (including a voiceservice) of the UE are actually unavailable during this period of time,which greatly affects user experience of the UE. Furthermore, becausethe computation processing and the storage processing are combined, aprocessing capability and a storage capability of each network elementare bound together, which also means that the processing capability ofthe network element cannot be freely scaled up and down and is mapped tothe storage capability in a one-to-one manner. In addition, becauseprocessing of the UE has to be performed in a network element in which acontext of the UE is stored, a service of the UE cannot be migrated toanother network element in a hitless manner.

Therefore, this embodiment uses an architecture in which storage andcomputation are separated. Specifically, the architecture in thisembodiment may include: a processing apparatus, a data managementnetwork element, and a storage apparatus. Functions of each part are asfollows:

The processing apparatus: acquires a data distribution policy from thedata management network element, where the data distribution policy mayinclude storage information of the storage apparatus; and saves contextinformation of a UE into the storage apparatus according to the datadistribution policy, or acquires context information of a UE from thestorage apparatus according to the data distribution policy.Specifically, the processing apparatus may send a create request messageto the data management network element, where the create request messagemay include storage requirement information of the processing apparatus,so that the data management network element can interact with thestorage apparatus according to the create request message, to determinethe data distribution policy, and then, the data management networkelement can feed back the determined data distribution policy to theprocessing apparatus. More specifically, the processing apparatus mayrequest the data management network element to create a correspondingdatabase instance, so that the data management network element caninteract with the storage apparatus according to the database instance,to determine the data distribution policy. In specific implementation,the data distribution policy may include: a correspondence between akeyword and a storage identifier, where the storage identifier may be anidentifier of a storage network element or an identifier of a storagenode in a storage network element, so that the processing apparatus maydetermine a keyword corresponding to identifier information of the UE,determine a storage identifier according to the determined keyword andthe correspondence, and save the context information of the UE into thestorage apparatus according to the storage identifier or acquire thecontext information of the UE from the storage apparatus according tothe storage identifier.

The storage identifier includes address information (for example, an IPaddress) of the storage apparatus, address information and port numberinformation of the storage apparatus, fully qualified domain name (FQDN)information of the storage apparatus, FQDN information and number Portinformation of the storage apparatus, or the like.

The data management network element: determines a data distributionpolicy according to a request sent by the processing apparatus, andsends the data distribution policy to the processing apparatus.Specifically, the data management network element may receive a createrequest message sent by the processing apparatus, where the createrequest message may include storage requirement information of theprocessing apparatus; the data management network element may interactwith the storage apparatus according to the create request message, todetermine the data distribution policy; and then, the data managementnetwork element may feed back the determined data distribution policy tothe processing apparatus. More specifically, that the data managementnetwork element determines the data distribution policy includes: thedata management network element may create a database instance accordingto the request from the processing apparatus; the data managementnetwork element requests, according to the database instance, thestorage apparatus to allocate storage space; and the data managementnetwork element creates and then determines the data distribution policyaccording to the created database instance and the storage apparatusthat is corresponding to the database instance.

The storage apparatus: stores context information of a UE, and respondsto a context storage request sent by the processing apparatus to savecontext information of a UE, or responds to a context acquiring requestsent by the processing apparatus to feed back a context that is of a UEand obtained by means of querying to the UE.

In this embodiment, the processing apparatus may be a processing networkelement, or may be a processing node in a processing network element.The processing network element is a logical network element that mayperform UE-related signaling processing or data plane forwardingprocessing, where the signaling processing may include: MM signalingprocessing, session management (SM) signaling processing, or airinterface signaling processing. The processing network element may bedeployed on multiple virtual machines or multiple physical machines (forexample, multiple servers), and the processing network element may be anetwork element in an SAE network, such as an SGSN, an MME, an SGW, aPGW, a PCRF, an RNC, a NodeB, an eNodeB, a BSC, and a BTS, or may be acontrol plane network element (for example, a controller in an SDNarchitecture) or a forwarding plane network element (for example, aswitch) in a future network architecture. The processing node in thisembodiment may be a processing process in the processing network element(a virtual machine or a physical machine), or may be a board in theprocessing network element (a physical machine), or the like. Multipleprocessing nodes in one processing network element may be located onmultiple virtual machines or physical machines.

Similarly, the storage apparatus in this embodiment may be a storagenetwork element, or may be a storage node in a storage network element.The storage node may be a storage process in the storage network element(a virtual machine or a physical machine), or may be a board or memoryspace in the storage network element (a physical machine), or the like.Multiple storage nodes in one storage network element may be located onmultiple virtual machines or physical machines.

Furthermore, the data management network element and the storage networkelement in this embodiment are logical network elements that may bephysical hardware devices (for example, servers) or may be virtualmachines. The data management network element and the storage networkelement may be deployed on multiple virtual machines or multiplephysical machines. The data management network element and the storagenetwork element are logically separated, and physically, may be deployedon a same server or may be deployed on different servers.

Furthermore, the data management network element in this embodimentmainly performs management on the storage apparatus, for example,creating a database instance, requesting the storage apparatus toallocate storage space, and the like. The data management networkelement may be an independent network element, or may be integrated intothe processing apparatus (that is, the processing apparatus includes adata management function) or is integrated into an operations supportsystem (OSS) (that is, the OSS includes a data management function).

Therefore, in this embodiment, context information of a UE isindependently stored in a storage apparatus that is separated from aprocessing apparatus that performs UE-related signaling processing anddata plane forwarding processing, so that after a processing networkelement or a processing node becomes faulty, the context information ofthe UE can be acquired from a storage network element or a storage node.In this case, a service of the UE may be resumed according to theacquired context information, and uninterrupted service processing isachieved even if the processing network element is faulty or theprocessing node is faulty, thereby improving security and reliability ofprocessing.

Further, because storage processing and computation processing are notperformed in a same network element, the computation processing may bemigrated from one processing network element or one processing node toanother processing network element or another processing node in ahitless manner, thereby implementing hitless migration. In this way, ina case of low network load (for example, generally, network load of anoperator is relatively low in a period of time from 12:00 am to 6:00am), computation processing may be performed in several processingnetwork elements or several processing nodes in a centralized manner,thereby implementing energy saving and emission reduction; after thenetwork load increases, more processing network elements or processingnodes can be easily added to perform computation processing, andtherefore, load on each processing network element or each processingnode decreases, thereby implementing free capacity scalability.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of Embodiment 2 of a communication data processingmethod according to the present invention. The method in this embodimentis a processing process executed by a data management network element.As shown in FIG. 3, the method in this embodiment includes:

S301: The data management network element receives a create requestmessage sent by a processing apparatus.

In this embodiment, a function call may also be used between the datamanagement network element and the processing apparatus, for example,the processing apparatus calls a database instance create function ofthe data management network element; or an application programminginterface (API) call is used between the data management network elementand the processing apparatus, for example, the processing apparatuscalls a database instance create API of the data management networkelement.

S302: The data management network element interacts with a storageapparatus according to the create request message, to determine a datadistribution policy, where the data distribution policy includes storageinformation of the storage apparatus.

S303: The data management network element sends the data distributionpolicy to the processing apparatus, so that the processing apparatussaves context information of a UE into the storage apparatus accordingto the data distribution policy, or acquires context information of a UEfrom the storage apparatus according to the data distribution policy.

Further, the create request message may include storage requirementinformation of the processing apparatus (for example, required memoryfor storage, or a required CPU processing capability for storage).

Correspondingly, S302 may specifically be:

the data management network element creates a database instanceaccording to the create request message; and

the data management network element interacts with the storage apparatusaccording to the database instance, to determine the data distributionpolicy.

More specifically, S302 may specifically be:

the data management network element determines, according to thedatabase instance and performance information of the storage apparatus,a performance specification required to be allocated by the storageapparatus (for example, memory or a CPU processing capability requiredto be allocated);

the data management network element interacts with the storageapparatus, to request the storage apparatus to allocate storage spacemeeting a requirement of the performance specification; and

the data management network element generates the data distributionpolicy, where the data distribution policy includes:

a correspondence between a keyword and a storage identifier, where thestorage identifier is an identifier of an allocating storage networkelement or an identifier of a storage node in an allocating storagenetwork element.

A specific implementation principle of this embodiment is similar to thespecific implementation principle described in the embodiment shown inFIG. 2, which is not described herein again.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of Embodiment 3 of a communication data processingmethod according to the present invention. The method in this embodimentis a processing process executed by a storage apparatus. As shown inFIG. 4, the method in this embodiment includes:

S401: The storage apparatus receives a context processing request sentby a processing apparatus, where the storage apparatus is a storagenetwork element or a storage node in a storage network element.

S402: The storage apparatus performs processing on a context of a userequipment UE according to the context processing request.

The context processing request is a context storage request or a contextacquiring request; the processing apparatus is a processing networkelement, or a processing node in a processing network element; thestorage apparatus is a storage network element, or a storage node in astorage network element.

Further, in a case in which the context processing request is thecontext storage request, S401 is specifically:

the storage apparatus receives the context storage request sent by theprocessing apparatus, where the context storage request includes contextinformation of the UE and identifier information of the UE; and

correspondingly, S402 is specifically:

the storage apparatus determines, according to the identifierinformation of the UE, whether context information of the UE is stored;and

if the context information of the UE is stored, perform updateprocessing on the stored context information of the UE by using thecontext information of the UE included in the context storage request;or

if the context information of the UE is not stored, save the contextinformation of the UE included in the context storage request as a newrecord.

Further, in a case in which the context processing request is thecontext acquiring request, S401 is specifically:

the storage apparatus receives the context acquiring request sent by theprocessing apparatus, where the context acquiring request includesidentifier information of the UE; and

correspondingly, S402 is specifically:

the storage apparatus acquires context information of the UE by means ofquerying according to the identifier information of the UE; and

the storage apparatus sends the context information of the UE acquiredby means of querying to the processing apparatus.

A specific implementation principle of this embodiment is similar to thespecific implementation principle described in the embodiment shown inFIG. 2, which is not described herein again.

The following uses several specific embodiments to describe in detailthe foregoing technical solutions in the embodiments shown in FIG. 2 toFIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is a signaling flowchart of Embodiment 4 of a communication dataprocessing method according to the present invention; FIG. 6 is aschematic diagram of a network architecture used in a method embodimentshown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the method in thisembodiment may include:

S501: A processing network element/processing node requests a datamanagement network element to create a database instance.

The request may include storage requirement information of theprocessing network element/processing node, for example, a size ofrequired memory space or a required CPU processing capability.

S502: The data management network element creates the database instanceaccording to the request from the processing network element/processingnode.

Specifically, the data management network element may create thedatabase instance according to the storage requirement information ofthe processing network element/processing node.

S503: The data management network element interacts with a storagenetwork element according to the database instance and performanceinformation of the storage network element, to request the storagenetwork element to allocate storage space.

Specifically, the data management network element may acquire theperformance information of the storage network element in advance, forexample, information about current load; the data management networkelement determines, according to the database instance and theperformance information of the storage network element, a performancespecification required to be allocated by the storage network element,for example, an amount of memory required to be allocated by the storagenetwork element; and then, the data management network element canrequest the storage network element to allocate storage space meeting arequirement of the performance specification, for example, to allocate astorage node, where a storage network element may allocate one or morestorage nodes for one processing network element/processing node.

S504: The data management network element feeds back a data distributionpolicy to the processing network element/processing node.

The data management network element creates the data distribution policyaccording to the created database instance and a storage network elementor a storage node corresponding to the database instance. The datadistribution policy may include a correspondence between a keyword (Key)and a storage identifier.

The processing network element/processing node may save the datadistribution policy. When context information of a UE needs to bestored, the processing network element/processing node may perform hashoperation on identifier information of the UE to obtain a Keycorresponding to the identifier information of the UE; a storage networkelement/storage node identifier corresponding to the Key can bedetermined by querying the data distribution policy by using the Keyobtained by means of calculation; and then the processing networkelement/processing node may save the context information of the UE intothe storage network element/storage node corresponding to the storagenetwork element/storage node identifier, or acquire the contextinformation of the UE from the storage network element/storage nodecorresponding to the storage network element/storage node identifier.

FIG. 7 is a signaling flowchart of Embodiment 5 of a communication dataprocessing method according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6and FIG. 7, after a UE accesses a network, a processing networkelement/processing node may acquire context information of the UE, andsave the context information of the UE into a storage networkelement/storage node according to a data distribution policy. The methodin this embodiment may include:

S701: A processing network element/processing node acquires a Keycorresponding to a UE.

Specifically, the processing network element/processing node may performhash operation on identifier information of the UE to obtain thecorresponding Key.

S702: The processing network element/processing node queries a datadistribution policy according to the acquired Key, to obtain storagenetwork element/storage node identifier information corresponding to theKey.

S703: The processing network element/processing node sends a contextstorage request to a corresponding storage network element/storage nodeaccording to the acquired storage network element/storage nodeidentifier information.

The context storage request may include an identifier and to-be-savedcontext information of the UE.

S704: The storage network element/storage node queries a context recordof the UE after receiving the storage request from the processingnetwork element/processing node, to determine whether contextinformation of the UE is stored.

Specifically, the storage network element/storage node may store a UEcontext information table, where the table includes a correspondencebetween a Key and context information of a UE; the storage networkelement/storage node may perform hash operation on the identifierinformation of the UE to obtain the Key, and query the UE contextinformation table according to the Key, so as to determine whether thecontext information of the UE is stored.

S705: The storage network element/storage node saves context informationof the UE.

Specifically, if in S704, the storage network element/storage node doesnot find a context record of the UE in the UE context information table,the storage network element/storage node creates a new record in the UEcontext information table, and saves the context information of the UEin the created record; if in S704, the storage network element/storagenode finds a context record of the UE in the UE context informationtable, the storage network element/storage node adds new data to contextinformation of the UE in this record, and updates a field correspondingto the context information of the UE in this record by using updateddata.

FIG. 8 is a signaling flowchart of Embodiment 6 of a communication dataprocessing method according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6and FIG. 8, after recovery from a fault, a processing networkelement/processing node may acquire context information of a UE from astorage apparatus according to a data distribution policy. The method inthis embodiment may include:

S801: A processing network element/processing node acquires a Keycorresponding to identifier information of a UE.

S802: The processing network element/processing node queries a datadistribution policy according to the acquired Key, to obtain storagenetwork element/storage node identifier information corresponding to theKey.

S803: The processing network element/processing node sends a contextacquiring request to a corresponding storage network element/storagenode according to the acquired storage network element/storage nodeidentifier information, where the context acquiring request includes theidentifier information of the UE.

S804: The storage network element/storage node queries a context recordof the UE after receiving the context acquiring request from theprocessing network element/processing node, to determine whether contextinformation of the UE is stored.

S805: The storage network element/storage node feeds back the contextinformation of the UE.

Specifically, if the storage network element/storage node does not finda context record of the UE in a UE context information table, thestorage network element/storage node may return, to the processingnetwork element/processing node, information that data does not exist;if the storage network element/storage node finds a context record ofthe UE in the UE context information table, the storage networkelement/storage node returns found context information of the UE to theprocessing network element/processing node.

S806: The processing network element/processing node saves the contextinformation of the UE.

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of a processingapparatus according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, theapparatus in this embodiment may include:

an acquiring module 11, configured to acquire a data distributionpolicy, where the data distribution policy includes storage informationof a storage apparatus, where the storage apparatus is configured tostore context information of a user equipment UE; and

a context processing module 12, configured to save context informationof a UE into the storage apparatus according to the data distributionpolicy, or acquire context information of a UE from the storageapparatus according to the data distribution policy.

The processing apparatus is a processing network element, or aprocessing node in a processing network element.

The storage apparatus is a storage network element, or a storage node ina storage network element.

Further, the acquiring module 11 is specifically configured to:

send a create request message to a data management network element, orcall a database instance create function of a data management networkelement, or call a database instance create API of a data managementnetwork element, so that the data management network element interactswith the storage apparatus according to the create request message, orthe create function, or the create API, to determine the datadistribution policy; and

receive the data distribution policy sent by the data management networkelement.

Further, the create request message, or the create function, or thecreate API includes storage requirement information of the processingapparatus, so that the data management network element requests,according to the storage requirement information, the storage apparatusto allocate storage space.

Still further, the data distribution policy includes:

a correspondence between a keyword and a storage identifier, where thestorage identifier is an identifier of a storage network element or anidentifier of a storage node in a storage network element.

The context processing module 12 is specifically configured to:

determine a keyword corresponding to identifier information of the UE,and determine a storage identifier according to the determined keywordand the correspondence; and

save the context information of the UE into the storage apparatusaccording to the storage identifier, or acquire the context informationof the UE from the storage apparatus according to the storageidentifier.

Further, the context processing module 12 is specifically configured to:

perform hash operation on the identifier information of the UE, toobtain the keyword corresponding to the identifier information of theUE.

Further, the context processing module 12 is specifically configured to:

acquire the context information of the UE after the UE accesses anetwork, and save the context information of the UE into the storageapparatus according to the data distribution policy;

or

after recovery from a fault, acquire the context information of the UEfrom the storage apparatus according to the data distribution policy.

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of aprocessing apparatus according to the present invention. As shown inFIG. 10, the apparatus in this embodiment may include: a processor 21, amemory 22, and at least one communications interface 23, where thecommunications interface 23 is configured to communicate with anexternal device, the memory 22 is configured to store a computer programinstruction, and the processor 21 is configured to call the computerprogram instruction stored in the memory 22, so as to execute thefollowing operations:

acquiring a data distribution policy, where the data distribution policyincludes storage information of a storage apparatus, where the storageapparatus is configured to store context information of a user equipmentUE; and

saving context information of a UE into the storage apparatus accordingto the data distribution policy, or acquiring context information of aUE from the storage apparatus according to the data distribution policy.

The processing apparatus is a processing network element, or aprocessing node in a processing network element.

The storage apparatus is a storage network element, or a storage node ina storage network element.

Further, the processor 21 is specifically configured to:

send a create request message to a data management network element, orcall a database instance create function of a data management networkelement, or call a database instance create API of a data managementnetwork element, so that the data management network element interactswith the storage apparatus according to the create request message, orthe create function, or the create API, to determine the datadistribution policy; and

receive the data distribution policy sent by the data management networkelement.

The create request message, or the create function, or the create APIincludes storage requirement information of the processing apparatus, sothat the data management network element requests, according to thestorage requirement information, the storage apparatus to allocatestorage space.

Further, the so that the data management network element interacts withthe storage apparatus according to the create request message, or thecreate function, or the create API, to determine the data distributionpolicy specifically includes:

the data management network element creates a database instanceaccording to the create request message, or the create function, or thecreate API;

the data management network element requests the storage apparatus toallocate storage space; and

the data management network element creates the data distribution policyaccording to the created database instance and the storage apparatusthat is corresponding to the database instance.

Further, the data distribution policy includes:

a correspondence between a keyword and a storage identifier, where thestorage identifier is an identifier of a storage network element or anidentifier of a storage node in a storage network element; and

the processor 21 is specifically configured to:

determine a keyword corresponding to identifier information of the UE,and determine a storage identifier according to the determined keywordand the correspondence; and

save the context information of the UE into the storage apparatusaccording to the storage identifier, or acquire the context informationof the UE from the storage apparatus according to the storageidentifier.

Further, the processor 21 is specifically configured to:

perform hash operation on the identifier information of the UE, toobtain the keyword corresponding to the identifier information of theUE.

Further, the processor 21 is specifically configured to:

acquire the context information of the UE after the UE accesses anetwork, and save the context information of the UE into the storageapparatus according to the data distribution policy;

or

after recovery from a fault, acquire the context information of the UEfrom the storage apparatus according to the data distribution policy.

In specific implementation, in this embodiment, the processing networkelement is an SGSN, an MME, an SGW, a PGW, a PCRF, an RNC, a NodeB, aneNodeB, a BSC, or a BTS in an SAE network, or the processing networkelement is a control plane network element in an SDN architecture, forexample, an SDN controller, or a forwarding plane network element, forexample, a switch.

Further, the processing node is a processing process or a processingboard in the processing network element.

The processing apparatus in the foregoing embodiment may be used toimplement the technical solution in the method embodiment shown in FIG.2, and implementation principles and technical effects thereof aresimilar and are not described herein again.

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of a datamanagement network element according to the present invention. As shownin FIG. 11, the data management network element in this embodiment mayinclude:

a receiving module 31, configured to receive a create request messagesent by a processing apparatus, or receive a database instance createfunction called by a processing apparatus, or receive a databaseinstance create API called by a processing apparatus;

a determining module 32, configured to interact with a storage apparatusaccording to the create request message, or the create function, or thecreate API, to determine a data distribution policy, where the datadistribution policy includes storage information of the storageapparatus; and

a sending module 33, configured to send the data distribution policy tothe processing apparatus, so that the processing apparatus saves contextinformation of a UE into the storage apparatus according to the datadistribution policy, or acquires context information of a UE from thestorage apparatus according to the data distribution policy.

Further, the create request message, or the create function, or thecreate API includes storage requirement information of the processingapparatus; and

the determining module 32 is specifically configured to:

create a database instance according to the create request message; and

interact with the storage apparatus according to the database instanceand performance information of the storage apparatus, to determine thedata distribution policy.

Further, the determining module 32 is specifically configured to:

determine, according to the database instance and the performanceinformation of the storage apparatus, a performance specificationrequired to be allocated by the storage apparatus;

interact with the storage apparatus, to request the storage apparatus toallocate storage space meeting a requirement of the performancespecification; and

generate the data distribution policy, where the data distributionpolicy includes a correspondence between a keyword and a storageidentifier, where the storage identifier is an identifier of anallocating storage network element or an identifier of a storage node inan allocating storage network element.

FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of a datamanagement network element according to the present invention. As shownin FIG. 12, the data management network element in this embodiment mayinclude: a processor 41, a memory 42, and at least one communicationsinterface 43, where the communications interface 43 is configured tocommunicate with an external device, the memory 42 is configured tostore a computer program instruction, and the processor 41 is configuredto call the computer program instruction stored in the memory 42, so asto execute the following operations:

receiving a create request message sent by a processing apparatus, orreceiving a database instance create function called by a processingapparatus, or receiving a database instance create API called by aprocessing apparatus;

interacting with a storage apparatus according to the create requestmessage, or the create function, or the create API, to determine a datadistribution policy, where the data distribution policy includes storageinformation of the storage apparatus; and

sending the data distribution policy to the processing apparatus, sothat the processing apparatus saves context information of a UE into thestorage apparatus according to the data distribution policy, or acquirescontext information of a UE from the storage apparatus according to thedata distribution policy.

Further, the create request message, or the create function, or thecreate API includes storage requirement information of the processingapparatus; and

the processor 41 is specifically configured to:

create a database instance according to the create request message, orthe create function, or the create API; and

interact with the storage apparatus according to the database instanceand performance information of the storage apparatus, to determine thedata distribution policy.

Further, the processor 41 is specifically configured to:

determine, according to the database instance and the performanceinformation of the storage apparatus, a performance specificationrequired to be allocated by the storage apparatus;

interact with the storage apparatus, to request the storage apparatus toallocate storage space meeting a requirement of the performancespecification; and

generate the data distribution policy, where the data distributionpolicy includes a correspondence between a keyword and a storageidentifier, where the storage identifier is an identifier of anallocating storage network element or an identifier of a storage node inan allocating storage network element.

The data management network element in the foregoing embodiment may beused to implement the technical solution in the method embodiment shownin FIG. 3, and implementation principles and technical effects thereofare similar and are not described herein again.

FIG. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of a storageapparatus according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 13, theapparatus in this embodiment may include:

a receiving module 51, configured to receive a context processingrequest sent by a processing apparatus; and

a processing module 52, configured to perform processing on a context ofa user equipment UE according to the context processing request.

The context processing request is a context storage request or a contextacquiring request; the processing apparatus is a processing networkelement, or a processing node in a processing network element; thestorage apparatus is a storage network element, or a storage node in astorage network element.

Further, the receiving module 51 is specifically configured to:

receive the context storage request sent by the processing apparatus,where the context storage request includes context information of the UEand identifier information of the UE; and

the processing module 52 is specifically configured to:

determine, according to the identifier information of the UE, whethercontext information of the UE is stored; and

if the context information of the UE is stored, perform updateprocessing on the stored context information of the UE by using thecontext information of the UE included in the context storage request;

if the context information of the UE is not stored, save the contextinformation of the UE included in the context storage request as a newrecord.

Further, the receiving module 51 is specifically configured to:

receive the context acquiring request sent by the processing apparatus,where the context acquiring request includes identifier information ofthe UE; and

the processing module 52 is specifically configured to:

acquire context information of the UE by means of querying according tothe identifier information of the UE; and

send the context information of the UE acquired by means of querying tothe processing apparatus.

FIG. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of a storageapparatus according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 14, thestorage apparatus in this embodiment may include: a processor 61, amemory 62, and at least one communications interface 63, where thecommunications interface 63 is configured to communicate with anexternal device, the memory 62 is configured to store a computer programinstruction, and the processor 61 is configured to call the computerprogram instruction stored in the memory 62, so as to execute thefollowing operations:

receiving a context processing request sent by a processing apparatus;and

performing processing on a context of a user equipment UE according tothe context processing request.

The context processing request is a context storage request or a contextacquiring request; the processing apparatus is a processing networkelement, or a processing node in a processing network element; thestorage apparatus is a storage network element, or a storage node in astorage network element.

Further, the processor 61 is specifically configured to:

receive the context storage request sent by the processing apparatus,where the context storage request includes context information of the UEand identifier information of the UE;

determine, according to the identifier information of the UE, whethercontext information of the UE is stored; and

if the context information of the UE is stored, perform updateprocessing on the stored context information of the UE by using thecontext information of the UE included in the context storage request;

if the context information of the UE is not stored, save the contextinformation of the UE included in the context storage request as a newrecord.

Further, the processor 61 is specifically configured to:

receive the context acquiring request sent by the processing apparatus,where the context acquiring request includes identifier information ofthe UE;

acquire context information of the UE by means of querying according tothe identifier information of the UE; and

send the context information of the UE acquired by means of querying tothe processing apparatus.

Further, the storage node is a storage process, a board, or storagespace in the storage network element.

The storage apparatus in the foregoing embodiment may be used toimplement the technical solution in the method embodiment shown in FIG.4, and implementation principles and technical effects thereof aresimilar and are not described herein again.

FIG. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of acommunications system according to the present invention. As shown inFIG. 15, the communications system in this embodiment may include: aprocessing apparatus 1, a data management network element 2, and astorage apparatus 3. The processing apparatus 1 may use the structureshown in FIG. 9 or FIG. 10, and may be used to implement the technicalsolution in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 2; the data managementnetwork element 2 may use the structure shown in FIG. 11 or FIG. 12, andmay be used to implement the technical solution in the method embodimentshown in FIG. 3; the storage apparatus 3 may use the structure shown inFIG. 13 or FIG. 14, and may be used to implement the technical solutionin the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4.

For an implementable manner of an architecture of the communicationssystem in this embodiment, reference may be made to the architectureshown in FIG. 5. For a specific process of interaction between theprocessing apparatus 1, the data management network element 2, and thestorage apparatus 3 in the communications system, reference may be madeto the interaction processes shown in FIG. 6 to FIG. 8.

Persons of ordinary skill in the art may understand that all or some ofthe steps of the method embodiments may be implemented by a programinstructing relevant hardware. The program may be stored in a computerreadable storage medium. When the program runs, the steps of the methodembodiments are performed. The foregoing storage medium includes: anymedium that can store program code, such as a ROM, a RAM, a magneticdisk, or an optical disc.

Finally, it should be noted that the foregoing embodiments are merelyintended for describing the technical solutions of the presentinvention, but not for limiting the present invention. Although thepresent invention is described in detail with reference to the foregoingembodiments, persons of ordinary skill in the art should understand thatthey may still make modifications to the technical solutions describedin the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent replacements to some orall technical features thereof, without departing from the scope of thetechnical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A communication data processing method,comprising: sending, by a processing apparatus, a create request messageto a data management network element, wherein the data managementnetwork element interacts with a storage apparatus according to thecreate request message to determine a data distribution policy;receiving, by the processing apparatus, the data distribution policysent by the data management network element; and performing, by theprocessing apparatus based on the data distribution policy, one ofsaving context information of a UE in the storage apparatus, andacquiring context information of a UE from the storage apparatus.
 2. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the create request messagecomprises storage requirement information of the processing apparatus,so that the data management network element requests, according to thestorage requirement information, the storage apparatus to allocatestorage space.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the methodfurther comprises: creating, by the data management network element, adatabase instance according to the create request message; requesting,by the data management network element, the storage apparatus toallocate storage space; and creating, by the data management networkelement, the data distribution policy according to the created databaseinstance and the storage apparatus that corresponds to the databaseinstance.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the datadistribution policy comprises a correspondence between a keyword and astorage identifier wherein the storage identifier is one of anidentifier of a storage network element and an identifier of a storagenode in a storage network element; and the saving, by the processingapparatus, context information of a UE into the storage apparatus, oracquiring context information of a UE from the storage apparatuscomprises: determining, by the processing apparatus, a keywordcorresponding to identifier information of the UE, and determining astorage identifier according to the determined keyword and thecorrespondence; and performing, by the processing apparatus one of,saving the context information of the UE into the storage apparatusaccording to the storage identifier, and acquiring the contextinformation of the UE from the storage apparatus according to thestorage identifier.
 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein thedetermining, by the processing apparatus, a keyword corresponding toidentifier information of the UE comprises: performing, by theprocessing apparatus, hash operation on the identifier information ofthe UE, to obtain the keyword corresponding to the identifierinformation of the UE.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein thesaving, by the processing apparatus, context information of a UE intothe storage apparatus according to the data distribution policycomprises: acquiring, by the processing apparatus, the contextinformation of the UE after the UE accesses a network, and saving thecontext information of the UE into the storage apparatus according tothe data distribution policy.
 7. The method according to claim 1,wherein the acquiring, by the processing apparatus, context informationof a UE from the storage apparatus according to the data distributionpolicy comprises: after recovery from a fault, acquiring, by theprocessing apparatus, the context information of the UE from the storageapparatus according to the data distribution policy.
 8. A communicationdata processing system, the system including a processing apparatus anda data management network element, wherein: the processing apparatus isconfigured to send a create request message to a data management networkelement, wherein the data management network element is configured tointeract with a storage apparatus according to the create requestmessage; the processing apparatus is further configured to receive thedata distribution policy sent by the data management network element;and the processing apparatus is further configured to perform, based onthe data distribution policy, one of save context information of a UEinto the storage apparatus and acquire context information of a UE fromthe storage apparatus.
 9. The system according to claim 8, wherein thecreate request message comprises storage requirement information of theprocessing apparatus, so that the data management network elementrequests, according to the storage requirement information, the storageapparatus to allocate storage space.
 10. The system according to claim8, wherein the data management network element is further configured to:create a database instance according to the create request message, orthe create function, or the create API; request the storage apparatus toallocate storage space; and create the data distribution policyaccording to the created database instance and the storage apparatusthat corresponds to the database instance.
 11. The system according toclaim 8, wherein the data distribution policy comprises a correspondencebetween a keyword and a storage identifier wherein the storageidentifier is one of an identifier of a storage network element and anidentifier of a storage node in a storage network element; and whereinthe processing apparatus saving context information of a UE into thestorage apparatus, or acquire context information of a UE from thestorage apparatus comprises: determining, by the processing apparatus, akeyword corresponding to identifier information of the UE, anddetermining a storage identifier according to the determined keyword andthe correspondence; and performing by the processing apparatus, one ofsaving the context information of the UE into the storage apparatusaccording to the storage identifier, and acquiring the contextinformation of the UE from the storage apparatus according to thestorage identifier.
 12. The system according to claim 11, wherein thedetermining, by the processing apparatus, a keyword corresponding toidentifier information of the UE comprises: performing, by theprocessing apparatus, hash operation on the identifier information ofthe UE, to obtain the keyword corresponding to the identifierinformation of the UE.
 13. The system according to claim 8, wherein theprocessing apparatus saving context information of a UE into the storageapparatus according to the data distribution policy comprises:acquiring, by the processing apparatus, the context information of theUE after the UE accesses a network, and saving the context informationof the UE into the storage apparatus according to the data distributionpolicy.
 14. The system according to claim 8, wherein the processingapparatus acquiring context information of a UE from the storageapparatus according to the data distribution policy comprises: afterrecovery from a fault, acquiring, by the processing apparatus, thecontext information of the UE from the storage apparatus according tothe data distribution policy.